South Korea beat Japan to win Asian Games group
South Korea’s men’s basketball team defeated Japan 100:83 in Nagoya, Japan, to finish first in Group A of the men’s Asian Games tournament. The match took place at Aichi International Arena. Both teams had secured their places in the quarterfinals before their head-to-head meeting, having each earned two wins over Saudi Arabia and Indonesia.
25 points from Lee Jung-hyun
South Korea’s top scorer was guard Lee Jung-hyun, who recorded 25 points, made five of eight three-point attempts and delivered seven assists. Center Jang Jae-seok, who came off the bench, added 18 points and eight rebounds.
Japan started the game actively: its 211-centimeter center Alex Kirk scored the team’s first eight points. South Korea took a 19:17 lead late in the first quarter. In the second 10-minute period, it went ahead 25:17 after six successful free throws, but Japan ended the first half with an 11:2 run, making three three-pointers in just over a minute.
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Key stretch of the third quarter
In the third quarter, Lee Woo-seok was ejected after receiving a technical foul and an unsportsmanlike foul for elbow contact with John Harper Jr. Japan then took a 58:57 lead, but Lee Jung-hyun changed the course of the game. He made two shots from beyond the arc and then hit another three-pointer at the buzzer to set the score at 71:66 before the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, South Korea extended its lead thanks to a three-pointer by Yoo Ki-sang, a putback by Lee Hyun-jung and a successful shot by Jang Jae-seok. Late in the game, the Korean team forced turnovers that led to easy points, while Moon Jung-hyun made a buzzer-beating three-pointer. According to the Korea Herald, the quarterfinal matches will take place on Wednesday in Nagoya, while the semifinals are scheduled for Friday.
